Shipping One-Shots
by Stereophonic Aftershock
Summary: As the title suggests, these will be a group of one-shots dedicated to certain pairings. Request for a theme or pairing! 2- Pearlshipping, Ash/Dawn.
1. Chapter 1: Azanshipping

****Note** - Happy Valentine's Day! I'm practicing with writing one-shots as opposed to multi-length fanfics, because I really, **_**really**_** need the practice. I noticed that there aren't any fanfics for this pairing, and while I can understand it, it makes me a little sad, because azanshipping is my guilty pleasure.  
Right, so if you're wondering azanshipping is Gary Oak/Green Oak. I'm going with the gameverse Green, because manga!Green and Gary wouldn't get along as well as gameverse.**

**Rating: T  
Warnings: It's Green/Gary, so there's slash and a nice, healthy, narcissistic romance (but if you know the Yugioh fandom, pairing two characters that look like each other together is pretty common).  
Summary: Gary had a secret, one that he kept from even his grandfather didn't know. No one knew about the brunet boy who often visited through what he called the 'Entralink', and no one knew about his forbidden romance.**

**Azanshipping**

Gary didn't like to label himself as 'gay'. He was a perfectly normal, straight, sixteen year old boy, who was only _a little_ preoccupied with his appearance. He didn't like to think of this as the _identifier_ of homosexuality, anyway; there were tons of guys he knew who took pride in their appearance! Like Drew! There was nothing gay about the co-ordinator (though he _had_ heard a few rumours about he and a guy named Brendan being caught together... nah, it couldn't be true).

Gary brushed stray fur from his trousers. Thankfully, his grandfather had not questioned him on his smart trousers when he started on his research, and left him to it.

God knows what the professor would do if he found out...

Gary stood up from the carpet of his bedroom. He had been lounging around, waiting for his grandfather to go to bed so he could sneak out of his bedroom window, as he had been doing for the past few weeks. He used to go out wearing his cargos and a t-shirt, but after a week, he had felt compelled to dress a little smarter, Green did so, after all.

_Green_. The name made him smile. Just a month ago, Gary had snuck out of his bedroom to go for a quiet walk. He had been having doubts about his own skills, _again_, he thought bitterly. As a trainer, he had been overly-confident in his skills, which helped him win ten gym badges and come _so close_ to his eleventh. The strange pokémon he and his cheerleaders were attacked by had been one of the reasons he wanted to become a researcher in the first place! He had never seen anything like it! Still, after his loss at the Indigo League, he began to doubt whether he was a truly skilled trainer.

_It was Ash's fault_, he had thought at the time. _All that nonsense about being friends with pokémon! Like that would make any difference!_

Of course, that opinion changed when Professor Oak sent him to a deserted part of Kanto for a year with Blastoise, Nidoking and an eevee the professor had just received from a friend in the Johto region. He became steadily closer to his pokémon without the need to impress those girls he insisted on having, and the pokémon themselves appreciated it as well!

Gary shuddered as he remembered the time when his nidoking was a tiny, low-levelled nidoran, newly-caught. One of his cheerleaders had gushed about how _cute_ it was, and how she'd _hug_ it, until he reminded her about its poison point. He had apologised to the pokémon later that night, but he was still embarrassed.

When Gary became a researcher, he thought it would be so _easy_. Ha! He had managed to help bring back an aerodactyl, sure, but he still lost out on a whole _year's_ wages paying for the damage. Being defeated by Saturn while he was in Sinnoh... that was just humiliating...

So he had left the house, heading down the road to a secluded, sandy area by the sea. The beach had always been a source of comfort to him, if a little nostalgic; his parents used to take him there when he was a kid, before they left him with his grandfather to study in a far away region. Gary never saw the beach as a bitter place, instead reserving that for Saffron City, the place he had been born- it was why he never challenged the gym there; too many bad memories. He had been watching the horizon peacefully, admiring the way the moonlight reflected on the surface of the ocean. He used to tell himself that when it was the afternoon and the sun was high, and the tide was low, that if he squinted hard enough, he'd be able to see Cinnabar Island.

It was that reminiscent thought that made him chuckle at his own innocence.

And that was when _Green_ had first spoken to him.

'_What's so funny?'_

_Gary, always one for dramatics, spun around- kicking up sand as he did so. Beside him, only a foot or so away, was a slightly taller boy who looked almost exactly like him. They shared similar facial features and even hairstyles! Though, there was the fact that Gary was stood in his pale blue pajamas, while the boy in front of him wore beige cargos and a white shirt._

'_Who are you? Why do you look like me?'_

_The taller boy laughed lightly. _Dammit! _Gary thought_. Even his _laugh was the same!_

_The boy smiled cockily. 'It's Green. Green Oak.'_

'_Never heard of _you_,' Gary told him, turning up his nose. 'My grandfather is the professor, I think I'd know you if we were related.'_

_Green's smile stretched, so it now met his eyes. 'Ah, that's because I'm not from _here_. It's probably a bit too confusing for you; I ought to leave.'_

Gary had bristled at the insult to his intelligence, and demanded to know what Green meant. Apparently there was such thing as an 'alternate universe', where he came from, and where _he_ was the grandson of the great Professor Oak. Gary had asked for more details, not quite believing him, but still curious.

'_I came through using the _Entralink_. It's quite fascinating, actually. It was developed by Amanita as a way of extending the Storage System. It's all very weird, I don't fully understand it. Still, I told her that I'd test it, and here I am! I need prove of something though...'_

He had eyed Gary for a moment, which led to the shorter boy pointing to the sand.

'_Use that. Surely the sand in Pallet is different in _your_ universe, right?'_

'_It's possible, but I was hoping for your shirt.'_

He had been flirting with him. Right from the very beginning, and that had excited Gary. They had compared things about their universes, including their progress in the League, and their rivals.

'_Wow. And the kid _still_ wants to be a Master? That's dedication.'_

'_Better than living on the top of Mount Silver for the rest of his life.'_

Gary remembered their first meeting fondly, especially the way that Green had been looking at him. Perhaps the two of them, with their over-enlarged egos, were attracted to the taboo idea of the closest kind of incest possible. _How could you be closer to anyone than your counterpart? _Or as Green had put it, _'Who better to love you than you?'_

And so led to their first kiss, a little over a week ago.

Gary startled as he heard the click of his grandfather's light switch. He had not noticed the landing light go out. He decided- as always- to wait a few minutes before opening his window and climbing out, dropping onto the grass below his window with relative ease (he _had_ jumped from higher before, after all).

He made the trek to the beach in record time. Maybe the anticipation of their meeting had gotten to him, but he didn't care.

Green was standing in front of the sea with his back facing him.

Gary grinned and crept up behind the taller, slipping his arms around Green's waist. 'Hey. How've you been?'

Green chuckled. 'You're so casual. I've been busy at the gym- couldn't wait to get away.' He turned around so that he could look into Gary's eyes, one of the few physical differences between the two of them. Gary's eyes were brown, matching his hair in more than colour; they were fierce, and untamed. Green's eyes were, well, _green_. He cupped Gary's face in his hands and kissed his lips softly. 'I've missed you.'

Gary smiled and leaned into the kiss. 'It's only been a week, Green.' But it was still the longest they'd been apart since their meeting.

Green pulled away, dropping his hands so that they, like Gary's did his own, held his boyfriend's waist. 'Amanita's getting a bit suspicious. I think I'm annoying her with how often I come to see you.'

_Come to see you_. That made Gary feel good. It fuelled his ego, at any rate. 'Have you told her about-.'

'No. I couldn't, not really. She'd flip; she'd already warned me not to meet potential relatives, and to know how close _we_ are?'

He should have seen it coming. 'Are you going to be able to keep coming here?' Gary asked. He hid his hurt, as he knew that it wasn't something that Green wanted.

Green shook his head. 'I don't think so. She's looking for other people to test it out, to check of other people get the same place that I do.'

Gary forced a smile. 'Then... I guess we'll have to make the most of tonight, won't we?'

Green ran a hand through Gary's hair, pulling their bodies closer as he did so. 'We will, and I'll stay as long as I can.'

It wasn't anything different than what Green usually told him; something in the system always allowed him a short amount of time in the universe before he _faded away_. The first time it had happened, it had terrified Gary.

Now he was scared of it happening again.

He chose to pull away from his boyfriend and instead to sit on the sand, looking out at the ocean. 'What's it like in your Pallet Town?'

Green smiled faintly. 'It's a lot smaller than this. The beach back home is shorter, but then, we're a small town.' He sat down next to Gary, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him closer. 'It's certainly not as romantic as here.'

Gary snorted, but leant closer. 'That was so gay, it's not even funny.'

The taller teen smirked and yanked Gary closer so his face smashed into his own.

'Ow! Geez, what was _that_ for?' Gary moaned, holding his forehead

'I didn't _mean it_! I just saw it in films and...'

Gary was staring at him incredulously. 'Seriously? You're a sap.' He pushed Green onto his back, and climbed on top of him. 'Let me teach you how it's done.' And he closed the distance between them, locking their lips in a short kiss, but still one that sent his hormones wild.

It was only his second kiss, after all.

And being here with Green, meeting each other again in something much more passionate, he never wanted the night to end.

****Note**- I'm sure that in the future, once my writing style improves (and when I'm actually **_**awake**_**; it's ten-past one here. At **_**night**_**), I'll rewrite this. I'd like to hear how you think it could be improved, so I can take it into account during the rewriting. I know it's abrupt, and that's more of the style of it. Just because it's Valentine's Day, doesn't mean that I'll write something **_**happy**_**, dammit.**

**So, I hope you review! Tell me what you think, please, and request a pairing! I go by any universe, accept crack-pairings if I'm familiar with the characters, and will even write for a prompt if given.**

**I won't write incest (apart from this sort of thing, but then, it's **_**Gary and Green, so...**_**), and if a pairing is really creepy (like a ten year old and someone older in a **_**romantic**_** relationship), I won't write it.**

**-SA**


	2. Chapter 2: Pearlshipping

****Note** - I'll admit here, Dawn's not one of my preferred characters; she's annoying ('It's the poetry guy's grandson!' anyone?), nowhere near as well developed as Platinum or their game counterpart, and I didn't exactly grow up on Diamond and Pearl- thank God for YouTube, because I can actually watch the episodes and movies there. Pearlshipping is tricky for me, because Ash and Dawn? Really? I don't see it, to be honest. But it's not like me to get into shipping wars; I'm one of the rare Pallet/Poke/Egoshipping fans, so I'll give it a shot, but it won't be the middle of the relationship because quite frankly, I don't know Dawn's character well enough to get into that part of her emotional side.**

**If you read the first one-shot, you'll notice something about my writing style- I'm not the best at being subtle, or describing things. I also don't like pointing out where flashbacks start, or having a key to show that italics mean thoughts; it's very patronising. I want to have a **_**little**_** faith in my readers.**

**As with my last chapter, these one-shots are writing exercises for me while I take a break from my **_**Danger Days**_** fic, and my parody.**

**Rating: K+  
Warnings: Minor swearing, het.  
Characters: Ash, Dawn, Gold, Gold's mother.  
Summary: Ten years on, and after winning several contests, Dawn decides to become a tutor. Her first student, however, is currently being babysat by an old friend... Pre-Pearlshipping. **

**Pearlshipping**

Dawn's first student was a bit of an enigma.

For one thing, he didn't even look like he wanted to be there half of the time; always bored, barely paying any attention when she was trying to tell him about combos, and constantly getting a distant look every time training was mentioned.

The boy was a New Bark native, and he only chose co-ordinating because he hated it when people compared him to his older brother, a trainer whose success had spawned the release of a television series based around a character called 'Ethan'. The boy's brother, Jimmy, was a popular trainer, and though Dawn had never met him, she respected him.

Gold however... he was very temperamental. His hyperactivity was difficult to stop, and more than once, Dawn had wanted to slam her head against a wall, but there were still times when he would sit down and actually listen to what she had to say. Dawn suspected that this had to do with the fact that his mother had gone on holiday with his father, and left his with a friend to babysit. The woman had looked immensely relieved, and now Dawn understood why. She did not envy the poor sucker who had been convinced to look after the mischievous lad- she was sure that he was the reason behind Pachirisu's newfound talent in poker.

He was especially excited today and could barely sit still, though he was behaving exceptionally well; he even answered all of her questions correctly because he wanted to impress his babysitter.

Well, Dawn just _had_ to meet this person.

As they sat at a park bench eating Castelia Cones (the success of the food had led to worldwide marketing), he told her all about the man looking after him for the week.

'He's a _Master_, Miss Dawn!' he exclaimed. There was a spot of ice cream dripping from his nose. 'He's an actual Pokémon Master!'

Dawn passed him a napkin. 'I didn't think that you followed trainer news.'

He frowned and wiped the ice cream from his face. 'My brother, Jimmy... he's always in the papers and he never calls home. I always look for him, see how he's doing. I saw about Ash and I thought he was so cool! You know he became champion of Kalos when he was fourteen? Awesome!'

Dawn was stunned. Ash- a Pokémon Master... she was impressed and proud too. He had reached his dream. She smiled at Gold, who was taking a bite of the wafer cone. 'You know, Gold, when I started out as a co-ordinator, I travelled with Ash Ketchum.'

Gold's eyes widened, and he paused mid-bite. He stared at Dawn intensely, trying to tell whether she was lying or not. He swallowed his food and said, 'You're _serious_?'

She nodded. 'Uh-huh. I was with him and Brock for a year before we went our own ways. I even met Gary Oak.'

Gold's face was comical. 'The _doctor_ Brock? And Professor Oak? He got his PhD when he was twelve! He's Kris' _hero_!'

Dawn laughed. 'You should ask Ash about him. They're childhood friends.'

Gold was nodding excitedly now. 'This is so _cool_! I didn't know you were so _awesome_!'

'Thanks, Gold,' she deadpanned.

She took him back to his house in New Bark Town before five o'clock. When he told her that he forgot his key (his fingers were crossed behind his back, but Dawn pretended not to notice), she knocked on the door three times, anxiously waiting for her old friend to open the door. She remembered how different she now looked to when they had last met over four years ago, and prayed to Arceus that he recognised her.

Sure enough, when the door opened, and she was faced with the twenty-three year old, their eyes locked and were both taken aback by how different the other looked. Ash had definitely matured, with his defined features lending a more chiselled appearance, and his birthmarks accentuating the prominence of his cheekbones- high and inspiring. His hair, formerly a rats' nest at the best of times, was now cut shorter, and far neater than before- possibly to maintain a better image for the media, but more likely so Gold's parents could trust him.

He had certainly grown to be an attractive man.

A smile slowly spread across his face and he hugged her enthusiastically. 'Dawn! It's been so long! I didn't realise that you were Gold's tutor!'

She shrugged. 'The opportunity came up. I just decided to drop him off here, so I should be going. We'll catch up tomorrow, okay?'

Ash nodded, grinning at her. 'Okay. See you then.'

She waved to him as she walked away, heading back to her home in Cherrygrove City.

The next day came, and Dawn was woken by her alarm clock going off at ten in the morning. She groaned, stretched, and reached over to turn it off and possibly get a lie in, remembering that Gold's parents would be back by now.

Then she remembered who she had seen again the day before.

_Damn it_! She thought. _I better give him a call_!

She scrambled out of bed, tripping over her jeans and falling hard on her bedroom floor. She groaned again, rubbing her chin where she bashed it. 'Every time...' she muttered to herself before standing and shakily heading to her bathroom to take a shower.

When she was washed and dressed in acceptable clothing (nothing too fancy, but not overly casual), she picked up her PokéGear, before realising that she didn't have Ash's number. She stared in shock at the phone in her hand, cursing herself for her lack of foresight.

'Well,' she said, finding Gold's house number. 'I might as well ask if they have it.' She pressed the dial button, and fetched a pen and sheet of paper.

'_Dawn?'_ came the voice of Gold's mother. _'What are you calling here for?'_

The words caught in Dawn's throat, but she shook herself. 'How was the holiday?' she asked, trying to ease into the topic.

'_It was good, thank you. Was there something you wanted?'_

'Uh... yeah. Listen, I was dropping Gold off at the house yesterday, and I met his babysitter, Ash. I, uh... I used to travel with him back when I was starting out as a co-ordinator.'

'_You want his number?'_ The woman's voice sounded amused.

'...if that's okay...'

There was a laugh on the other end of the line. _'Of course, Dawn. Gold hasn't stopped talking about you both since he woke up.'_

She gave the number, and Dawn wrote it down rapidly, her hand shaking hard. 'Thank you, ma'am.'

When they hung up, she immediately called Ash.

He picked up after the third ring.

'_Hello?'_

'Ash? It's Dawn.'

'_Dawn! Hi, how did you get my number? I forgot to give it to you!'_

She blushed, and was glad that the PokéGear wasn't a video phone. 'I asked Gold's mum.'

He laughed. _'Aw, it's okay. You want to meet up, right?'_

'If that's okay.' She was annoyed with herself.

He laughed again, and agreed, giving her an address to meet before hanging up.

_What am I doing_? She asked herself before sighing and pulling on her coat. _Might as well get going_.

They met at a café in Violet City- Ash was staying in a hotel there before heading back to Pallet Town to visit his mother. He was waiting for her at one of the tables waving her over as soon as he spotted her. She noticed that he wore a black hoodie and sunglasses. _Is he trying to blend in_? She asked herself. _It's not even sunny_.

She sat down opposite him, smiling softly when he ordered two drinks, remembering her preference. 'My treat,' he told her, grinning. 'You know, last night Gold wouldn't stop asking me questions.'

Dawn blushed. 'What about?'

'Oh, apparently you mentioned that I know Brock and Gary, he wouldn't stop interrogating me for hours.'

She laughed. 'Aw, is _Ashy_ sad about that?'

He huffed. 'Thanks, Dawn.'

'No problem.' She grinned at him. 'How have you been, anyway? Gold mentioned that you became a Pokémon Master.'

He shrugged, trying to be casual. 'It's not really that big a deal...' He trailed off when Dawn raised an eyebrow, and cleared his throat. 'Well, I trained real hard for it and everything, but now that I beat six leagues? I don't know what to do... Brock's been helping me with the more official side of things, and Gary- of all people- has been giving me tips on how to handle my fame.'

Dawn snorted, and then went red. 'Sorry,' she told him.

He waved it off. 'Don't worry about it. Misty's sisters are even worse, but they're trying to get me to join their shows.' He sighed huffily. 'I don't _want_ to be in shows, I just want to go about things as normal.'

'How's your mum treating it?'

'"Oh, Ash! I'm so proud of my baby boy! Oh, you're just like your father!"' he rolled his eyes. 'Seriously, I'm glad that she's proud of me and everything, but I don't have the heart to tell her how much I hated when I'm compared to him.'

Dawn hummed in response. 'I'm sure she'd take it well... what does Misty think?' she changed the topic, not wanting the subject to bring Ash down.

'Oh!' he perked up, and Dawn felt a little jealous. 'She's so happy about it! Says that I can finally buy her a new bike!' he laughed. 'I'm sure I already got her a new one back after Johto, but I can't argue with her, you know?'

Dawn smiled. 'Sure.'

'What about you? How have you been? I heard you won a few contests?'

Her smile stretched to her eyes, and she grinned, flashing her pearly white teeth. 'I did! I can't believe I did it; I went against so many top co-ordinators, too! Mum was there cheering me on and everything!'

He raised a hand and she high-fived it. 'Looks like we've both been doing pretty well,' he said, letting his hand fall to the table with the palm facing upwards.

She eyed it warily, but placed her hand on his. 'Yeah, we have.'

It was Ash's turn to blush, though he tried to hide it. His hand clasped over Dawn's, and he stroked the back of it with his thumb. The waiter arrived with their drinks, but save for a thank-you, they didn't acknowledge him.

'I-.' Dawn started.

'Will you go on a date with me tonight?' he interrupted, perhaps a little too loudly. His face flushed, and he looked away. 'I mean... if you want to...?'

Dawn stared at him, stunned but giddy at the same time. She allowed a small smile to grace her features, and squeezed his hand.

'I'd like that.'

He looked at their clasped hands, and then up to her face.

'Yeah. Me too.'

****Note**- I hope that was okay for everyone. I'll admit, romance isn't my best subject (hence the shipping part of this exercise), so if you could tell me what you thought, I'd be very grateful.**


End file.
